Situation of anarchism in Lyon and the black flag Lyon and the
Lyon region in general quickly became an important hub for anarchism—anarchists there formed a Lyonnese Federation. Lyonnese anarchists operated in a climate of repression and surveillance from the French authorities. It was heavily monitored by the French authorities; every issue was sparingly analyzed, the special
commissaire of Lyon sought to discover the precise authors of each article, and authorities initiated numerous prosecutions against the successive managers of the newspaper, which changed its name several times. Finally, during the
demonstration of 9 March 1883,
Louise Michel brandished the flag, making the front page of several newspapers with this symbol, which she later defended during her trial.
Le Drapeau noir In Lyon itself, several anarchists established a new press organ titled
La Lutte ('The Struggle'). Like its predecessors, it was quickly prosecuted and banned. Its motto, like that of the previous title, was 'Liberty, Equality, Justice'. Aligning itself with previous Lyonnese anarchist publications, it announced that it was adopting the black flag as its emblem, this time distancing itself more overtly from the socialist
red flag:Daily events and facts have shown us clearly that the red flag, so glorious in defeat, could very well, in victory, cover the ambitious dreams of a few low-level schemers with its flaming folds. Since it has already sheltered a government and served as the banner of a constituted authority, we realized that for us—the daily undisciplined and the hourly rebels—it could be nothing more than an embarrassment or a lure.Among the reasons for choosing the black flag, the connection to the
Canuts was defended clearly and explicitly in the very first issue. According to historian
René Bianco, the journal's collaborators included Auguste Baudry, Clovis Demure, Léon Domergue, Marius Monfray, and the anarchist Vitre. The newspaper, which released its first issue on 12 August 1883, published a total of 17 issues until 2 December 1883. Following the legal proceedings brought against it, it gave way to the next Lyonnese publication, ''
L'Émeute'' ('The Riot'). == Legacy ==